Embodiments of the present invention relate to a fuel conversion system, and more particularly to a syngas production system used in such fuel conversion system.
With gradual depletion of natural resources (fuels), for example, natural gas, there is greater emphasis on using such fuels more wisely or to effectively convert such fuels into alternative fuels. For example, syngas production systems are used to produce a gas stream containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide (hereinafter also referred as “syngas”) from conventional fuels such as natural gas, coal, and biomass. The syngas production systems may include gasifiers, steam reformers, and the like. A converter system may be used to convert the syngas into liquid fuels such as gasolines, diesels, and the like. The converter system generally employs a set of chemical reactions for converting the syngas into the liquid fuels. However, a conventionally used syngas production system and the corresponding process are not very cost efficient for a small scale production. In the conventional syngas production system, for example, the steam reformer uses high temperature and pressure steam to convert methane to syngas. In such a system, an excess quantity of steam is used to improve efficiency of converting methane to syngas. Further, such a process requires catalysts for converting methane to syngas. The catalysts need to be periodically replaced. As a result, a syngas production system may become a capital intense component for the small scale production.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved syngas production system and an associated method for generating syngas.